Secret Santa short story for RM4E on MSMF
by KnitChick1979
Summary: This is the story I wrote for our little Secret Santa exchange on the MSMF boards. I think it turned out pretty nicely! :


Secret Santa fic for RM4E

It was snowing in Shuggazoom.

Not an evil snow this time, just a good old-fashioned winter snowfall. However, that didn't stop Gibson from talking Antauri's ear off for hours about climate change and the potential for an ice age, until Antauri quietly used the Power Primate to shut Gibson off.

Otto and Chiro were outside having a snowball fight, while Nova had turned up the heat in her room and was keeping her mind off the cold by pummeling her formless punching bag.

After Antauri had finally turned Gibson off, he and Sparx had begun the task of decorating the Super Robot for the upcoming holidays.

Digging through the boxes of decorations, Sparx found a very large sprig of mistletoe. His mind immediately started working on how to trick Nova into stepping underneath it.

The control room had too high a ceiling. He didn't want to set foot in Gibson's lab and he knew he'd never get Nova in there. Her room was out, she was in there and not in a very good mood the last he'd seen – the cold weather was responsible for that. His room was probably out, he'd never come up with a good excuse to get her in there, same with his Fist Rocket cockpit. But then there was her seat in the Robot's right foot...

"Where are you going Sparx?" Antauri asked from where he was floating above the tree.

"Uh, just checking something out. I'll be back!" Sparx said as he hastily ran into Nova's yellow transport tube.

Landing in the cockpit of the Foot Crusher Cruiser, Sparx looked for a decent spot to hang the mistletoe. He pinpointed a spot just above her seat but hard as he tried, he couldn't reach it. "Aargh! Why is Antauri the only one who can float?" he said to himself.

"Because I have gained a higher level of mastery of the Power Primate," came the familiar deep voice.

Sparx whirled around to see Antauri regarding him with a questioning gaze. "Uh, hi Antauri, what brings you down here?"

"I came to ask you that question. You know Nova will not be happy with you if you mess up her controls again."

Sparx gulped. "Wasn't thinking of it," he said. "I was ... well I..."

Antauri spotted the mistletoe in his hand. "You were going to leave a surprise for Nova?"

Sparx smiled. "Uh, yeah, you're good."

"And I suppose your comment was because you cannot reach a place to hang that mistletoe."

"Right again."

Antauri held out a hand for the mistletoe. "I suppose I can help you on that front."

Sparx handed over the mistletoe and Antauri floated up to the ceiling of the cockpit and attached the mistletoe. As he floated down he paused and closed his eyes. "It seems Nova has inadvertently awoken Gibson and they are looking for us." He opened his eyes. "Wait here."

"Uh, okay," Sparx said, watching Antauri go full ghost and phase through the ceiling.

When Antauri reached the main control room he found Nova and Gibson in a heated argument. "I can't turn the heat up any higher, we'll blow the heater coils! Get used to it Nova, we're entering a new ice age!" Gibson said.

Nova had her fists out. "I won't get used to it, just turn up the heat before I–"

"Enough!" Antauri interrupted the threat. "Gibson, will you kindly retrieve the last box of decorations, it seems I forgot to bring it out."

"Er, yes, certainly." Gibson scurried off, obviously happy to have an excuse to leave Nova's attack range.

"As for you Nova, I know you were uncomfortable but Gibson is right, we cannot turn the heat up much higher." Nova's face fell. "Besides, I had just detected a malfunction in Foot Crusher Cruiser Six before your argument with Gibson began. Perhaps you should check it out."

"But it's probably colder down there," Nova moaned. "Chiro said the Super Robot was standing in several feet of snow!"

"It is the same temperature there as in here. I shall see about something to warm you up. Just go down there and have a look," Antauri said firmly.

"All right..." Nova wrapped her tail around herself and reluctantly headed to her tube.

Down in the Foot Crusher Cruiser, Sparx was pacing. "What's taking Antauri so long?" he muttered. Then he heard a distant noise, the distinctive sound of someone coming down the transport tube. He stepped toward the back of the cockpit as Nova landed in her seat.

She immediately started checking the controls and running diagnostics. "Antauri's wrong, there's no malfunction here," she said to herself.

"Look up," Sparx said quietly.

Nova jumped. Instinctively she activated her fists and stood ready. "What are you doing down here Sparx?" she snapped.

"Just look up," he said, stepping out of the shadows.

Nova didn't relax her guard, but she did look up. "Mistletoe?"

"Mmmhmm, and you know what happens when you stand under the mistletoe," Sparx said, taking another step closer.

Nova relaxed a bit. "But..."

Sparx leaned in and kissed her gently on the cheek. "Let me keep you warm."

Nova deactivated her fists and allowed Sparx to embrace her tightly. After a moment, she hugged him back.

"Merry Christmas Nova."

"Merry Christmas Sparx."

And they kissed.

When they left the cockpit, seemingly hours later, they found a pile of presents sitting under a decorated Christmas tree, one of which was wriggling. Chrio and Otto came in, covered in rapidly melting snow, and Nova cautiously approached the moving parcel.

"What is it?" Chiro asked.

Still holding Sparx's hand, Nova poked at the package. "I don't know. Is it alive?"

"Let's open it!" Otto brushed snow of his hands and tore into the wrappings...to reveal a gagged and bound Gibson. Otto pulled the tape off the science officer's mouth and Gibson began a tirade.

"Where is Antauri!? I'll not be treated this way, do you hear me?" Gibson yelled.

Antauri entered, carrying a tray of mugs filled with steaming hot chocolate. He saw Gibson unwrapped and sighed. "I finally managed to quiet him down!"

"Oops, sorry," Otto said. He put the tape back on Gibson's mouth. "All better!"

Sparx sniffed the air. "Is that hot chocolate?" he asked.

"Indeed it is," Antauri said. He passed out the mugs. "You see Nova, I did promise to help warm you up."

Nova smiled at Sparx. "You sure did." She squeezed Sparx's hand. "Big time."

The End


End file.
